We've recently had an exciting acquisition to the Joy Cuff Archive. Joy worked with Stanley Kubrick in 1966-1967 as a Special Effects Department Assistant on the film 2001: A Space Odyssey – you can read more about Joy’s experiences working with Kubrick in her previous blog.
Through her contacts, Joy was recently able to acquire original ape costumes from the film, which she has kindly donated to her archive at the University Archives and Special Collections Centre. This includes one pair of ape feet and one ape mask, seen in the famous ‘Dawn of Man’ sequence at the beginning of the film.
We received these items in a shoebox lined with brown paper and kitchen paper, so it was a priority for us to properly re-box these fragile pieces to archive standards to ensure their safety.
The items do have some significant wear, including tears to the material and Sellotape on the mask where it would have been stuck to the actor's head! These details all form the object’s history, which we are keen to preserve as part of its ongoing story.
These items may be a contender for active conservation treatment in the future. But for now we are preventing further deterioration through the correct housing, and storage at stable temperatures and humidity in our stores.
For more information please contact archive-enquiries@arts.ac.uk.
